The Things We Do
by Ritsu Arasashi
Summary: Naruto's dream is to be Hokage. When Gaara finds out that the new Hokage is not the blond, just how far will he go to help the blond realize his dreams? And will he possibly find some of his own?


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. All I own is this off-shoot of the canon storyline that came up in my own personal universe. Which is mostly dominated by Gaara.

* * *

"Gaara?"

Papers shuffled.

Either he hadn't heard her or he was ignoring her. So, she tried once more. "Gaara, why don't you take a break for a while?"

Gaara set his pen down and glanced up at his older sister, irritation present in his eyes. "If I took a break, none of my work would get done."

"Kankurou and I could take it on," Temari said.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "And I'd do what, exactly?"

"Well, you could visit Uzumaki," Kankurou suggested, not moving from where he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.

Temari nodded and stared at her little brother expectantly.

Gaara folded his hands, fingers interlaced, in front of his mouth and said, "I take it you won't leave me alone unless I agree, hmm?"

"Not a chance," Temari said, grinning.

Gaara sighed. "You're hopeless, you know that."

"Yes, I am," Temari answered.

Gaara shook his head in exasperation. His siblings were so hopeless sometimes.

"Fine, fine," Gaara muttered. "Let me just go pack something-"

"Oh, there's no need for that," Kankurou said as Temari giggled.

"Why? What do you expect me to do? Share his wardrobe while I'm there?" Gaara said. "He means a lot to me, but not that much-"

"No, that's not what we meant," Temari said, smiling. "We already have your bag ready."

Gaara frowned. "You really had this planned all along, didn't you, Temari?"

"Yes. Yes,I did," she said, forcing the bag into his hands and pushing him out of the office. "Now go relax!" She shut the door and turned back to Kankurou, the grin fading from her face. "Maybe we shouldn't have done this..."

Oh, now you're having second thoughts?Kankurou sighed. "Yeah, I don't think he'll take too well to the new Hokage..."

Three days later, Gaara came into Konoha, stifling a yawn. It wastwo in the morning, after all. He trudged into Kitsune Ramen, when he noticed that all the stools were filled.

A blond, who had just placed a bowl of ramen in front of a customer, glanced up and waved, before yelling at two men near the center of the bar. "Hey! If you're not still eating, move. We've got another customer."

The two men grumbled and left.

Gaara sighed. Same, old Naruto. He dropped his bag beside the stool and sat down.

"Hey, Gaara," Naruto said. "The usual?"

Gaara nodded. "Oh, and congratulations."

"Don't start," the blond stated, his normal, cheerful demeanor fading.

Gaara looked at his friend curiously.

"I didn't get Hokage. Danzou did." Naruto passed Gaara's order to Hinata, who nodded shyly and went to work.

"Why him, of all people?" Gaara said, fighting to keep his temper.

"Because," Sasuke said, leaning against the bar beside Naruto, who walked off to tend to something in the back. After he'd come back to the village, he'd joined as his old friend's employee. "He was better qualified."

"Better-better qualified?" Gaara spat. "After how many- After everything Naruto's done?"

"They said Danzou had more military experience."

"More like they want Konoha destroyed," Gaara muttered.

"Please stop," Naruto said as he walked back up.

Hinata placed the ramen in front of Gaara and disappeared again.

As hungry as he'd been, hearing this news took his appetite.

"So," Sasuke said. "Whatcha gonna do, right? Anyway, eat up. We were just about to close, so the place'll be empty soon."

Gaara snatched up his bag and stormed out.

Naruto looked up from the inventory. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, dobe?"

"Bag that up and drop it at my house, will you?" Naruto said as he went after Gaara.

Gaara was making toward the gates when he felt a tug on his arm. He whirled around. "Naruto."

"Hey, Gaara," Naruto said. Remembering his friend's dislike of physical contact, he released him quickly.

If only he knew that Gaara was all right with it, so long as it was him.

"It's late. Why don't you crash at my place?"

Gaara frowned. "What's happened?"

"Well," Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's a long story."


End file.
